Welcome to my Hell!Originally Posted by Coffee
Welcome to my Hell!
Trust nobody!
Yeah it was rough today. Hoping to take off to the west coast this weekend and see some better mountais and coastline.
Is that too much to ask? Girls with frikkin' lasers on their heads?
The hanger formly known as "hammock engineer".
Coffee, anyplace close to Tacoma/Olympia (and I consider 'close' to cover a pretty wide area). Not that I'm homesick for some hanging buddies or anything. I've looked over some nice looking (on maps) coast hikes over in the Olympics.
Bad spellers of the world Untie!
It's more of a big hill and less than a mile away, way higher than I am used to in New Orleans. Spending some time in Norway for work. Planning on taking the train somewhere to weekend to see what I can find.Coffee, anyplace close to Tacoma/Olympia (and I consider 'close' to cover a pretty wide area
But I am feeling the start of the yearly Katadin fever. It starts hitting about now through January.
Is that too much to ask? Girls with frikkin' lasers on their heads?
The hanger formly known as "hammock engineer".
Bill, enjoy your trip with your dad... you're making memories to last a life time!!
Don't be surprised when your dad casually asks you if he can try your hammock and then you can't get him to get back out of it.
Question: have you weighted your's and dad's packs???
What kind of food are you carrying? and what's your stove??
Oh, another question..... you've got two under quilts & two over quilts, Could the thicker under quilt (your cold temp one) be used in the warmer temps by just hanging it a bit looser???
Can't wait to hear your reports when you come back....
Hooch,I had the good fortune to run across Bill yesterday on top of Max Patch hiking with his Dad. I do believe that both parties concerned were having the time of their lives.
Bill, it was nice meeting you and your Dad. I hope you guys have a wonderul hike!
It was nice meeting you as well.
We are now in Damascus, VA and enjoying this town very much. Tomorrow we head out and continue northward. It's hard to explain how amazing an experience this is.
The hammock setup is working out well. I had no problems staying warm even in the Smokys during mid teen temps with 1 1/2 feet of blowing snow. The hardest part as always is getting up in the morning.
My only issues has been keeping my tarp from flapping loudly in the wind. I'm still working on the pitch and may have to have additional guyout points added.
My Dad is very interested in a hammock after he saw how soundly I'm sleeping but I'm going to get a friend to lend him one to test. I can't see going to the ground after almost 2 months of comfortable sleep!
Hope everyone is well. Nothing to complain about here and I feel very lucky to be living this dream!!
Happy Hanging -
- Bill
Last edited by billslade; 05-04-2009 at 22:30.
Hello TinaLouise,
Dad is already asking about the hammock and wondering why I sleep so well. I had one person tell me I could save weight if we shared a tent... Ohhh they just don't understand!
With 2 liters of water and four days of food my pack is about 37 pounds. I am carrying about 2-3 pounds of books (my luxury items), my Dad is about 41 pounds.
For food we carry the typical dried food (Lipton Side, Ramen, Instant Mashed Potatoes and also Trail Foods). It's been pretty easy to resupply in a Dollar General or Grocery Store.
I'm using a Bushbuddy wood burning stove and my Dad has an alcohol stove. I stated using my alcohol stove as a backup after fooling around with wet wood starving while watching everyone else eat. It's working out good and when things are dry fuel is unlimited and it's easy to start.
The Mt Washington Underquilt has worked wonderful. The warmest nights have been around 60 and I left it attached and slept with my top quilt to the side. If it was warmer you could easily loosen the shock cords to vent it. The only disadvantage would be carrying slightly more bulk and weight as opposed to a lighter underquilt.
Hope this helps and let me know if you have any more specific questions.
Happy Hiking!
Bill
When it comes to the rough spots, Im always reminded of the "Lou" scene from Fight Club, and try my best to be as much of a masochist as possible when it gets hard. Also, the hit song It Only Makes Me Laugh by Danny Elfman. Cause you know the worst stuff will be your favorite when it's over!!
I ran into Bill and his dad today in the Three Ridges Wilderness. I'll second Hooch's opinion, they seem really happy. His dad ordered a Blackbird as a result of TD; I forgot to ask where and when he expected to pick it up. BTW, Cannibal, Bill says he has a good waterfall hanging photo for your project.
I couldn't agree more. I always enjoy seeing pics of the characters met along the trail much more than any scenery shot.I'm so jealous! Best of luck on your journey.
One piece of advise: It will be very tempting to take lots of pictures of the beautiful scenery, which is fine. But, what you will want when you are done (trust me) are pictures of all the interesting people you will meet along the way. Don't forget to take their picture. Helps if you write their trailname somewhere, but I found I usually remember most of them.
Best of luck and keep working on your dad about hammocks!
Best of luck with the trip. My best hiking days ever were with my daughter.
Miguel
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